The Mountain
by Collie Parkillo
Summary: There's nowhere Athena is happier than at her side. [Junithena]


Athena could hear the concern straining Juniper's voice through the phone. "You're really taking a leave from the Agency?"

"Yeah," Athena said, rolling over onto her back on her bed, the phone still clutched to her ear. "I don't know, I just don't think I feel like doing any more cases for awhile. Like...I've been trying all my life to figure out what it was that killed my mother, and free Simon, and now that I've done it I just...need a little time to think, you know?" She sighed.

"Do you have any plans for what you're going to do?" Juniper coughed.

"Junie, please don't worry too much about me. Do you have your inhaler with you?"

Juniper laughed quietly. "You're avoiding my question, 'Thena."

"Well, the answer is...I don't know. I'll do whatever. Just go with the flow, ya know?"

"The reason I asked is because, well…my grandma is away visiting extended family so it's just me up here all alone, and if you don't have anything better to do…Maybe you could come visit for a few days. Oh, 'Thena, I think you'd love it up here! The air is so fresh and nice and the birds chirp in the morning and I could cook for you!"

Athena smiled, staring up at the ceiling. Juniper's voice was so full of love and happiness. Just listening to it made Athena's eyes drift closed and a smile form on her lips. As a child, her hearing ability had tormented her, but being able to hear emotions that people were unable to express in words but wanted her to hear made her feel like the luckiest person in the world for having it.

"I'd love to, Junie. I'll take the bus to the foot of the mountain tomorrow."

"Really? You really will?!"

"Of course!" Athena laughed. "Goodnight, Junie."

"Goodnight, 'Thena."

Junie hung up, and Athena immediately got up and started stuffing her clothes into a messenger bag. She'd tell Mr. Wright and Apollo tomorrow. As she drifted off to sleep that night, she thought of Juniper's voice, honest and pure and gentle, saying her name and giggling, and she was asleep in moments.

The bus was to leave at ten, so Athena dragged herself up at nine and checked in on Apollo, who had fallen asleep in his desk chair, Mr. Wright, who was snoring and appeared to be drooling, and Trucy, who was wrapped in a cocoon of blankets and had a magnificent bedhead. Athena decided it'd be best not to wake them up and scribbled them a note. They'd understand. She knew they would.

Athena watched the city disappearing in the tinted windows of the bus. It was almost empty save for her, only a woman and her baby and an older man who was asleep. She guessed the mountains weren't a very popular destination. And when the bus pulled up to the station, there was no one here but Juniper, in her floppy sun hat and her tattered shawl.

"Junie!" Athena practically hopped off of the bus, pulling her into a hug. Juniper gave great hugs. She always wrapped her arms tightly around Athena's waist and buried her face in her shoulder so that Athena could practically feel her smiling against her skin.

"Good thing you got here early, because the walk up the mountain is pretty tiring. It's very beautiful, though!"

"It can't be anything I can't handle." Athena flashed Juniper a grin.

Two hours later, when Athena was panting and had ripped her pants on a thorn bush and drank an entire water bottle and was dying for a bathroom break, she regretted saying that. But Juniper was right. It was beautiful. They stepped over sparkling streams and viridian patches of moss, and the sunlight filtering through the trees made the air almost seem to glow.

"Are we there yet, Junie?" She asked for the umpteenth time.

"Almost," Juniper responded. That was how she had responded an hour ago, too.

"You must be so fit if you walk up this all the time! I bet you could beat Apollo at thumb-wrestling!"

"Actually," Juniper said, smiling angelically. "I usually take the cable cars up and down."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Athena shook her fist jokingly, and Juniper burst out laughing.

But thankfully, their journey wasn't much longer. Juniper's tiny cottage was almost at the summit of the mountain, and it almost camouflaged with the forest around it. "Well, here we are. It's...not much, I know, but it's home." Although Juniper had been to Athena's home in the space center many times, she'd never actually visited her own friend's in the mountains. She thought to herself that this visit was long overdue.

"I like it," Athena said, as Juniper held the door open. Light filtered in through the cottage's large windows, and there was no wall between the living room and the kitchen. "Do you cook your own food up here?"

"Yeah. I can make us lunch, if you want…"

"Totally! I can help out, you're already being so nice and it's the least I could do!"

"No, no, it's alright." Juniper gestured to the couch in front of the empty fireplace. "Don't worry about a thing, 'Thena. You came up here to relax, right? Just relax!" She smiled at Athena, and Athena decided it was best not to argue, and turned her attention to the several photographs on Junie's mantle above the fireplace.

One was people Athena knew well enough. Hugh O'Conner, holding a mock trial trophy in one hand and with his other arm around Robin Newman. Juniper must have been the one taking the photo, she thought. But there was another photo with all three of them. Juniper was sitting on Hugh's shoulders and the photographer had caught Robin laughing wildly next to them. The third photo looked the most recent, and a fourth member was included. All four people in the photo wore cardboard boxes on their heads. Athena smiled. That was sweet.

Her eyes lingered on a photo of her and Juniper as children. Somehow the photographer had gotten little Athena to smile. Maybe Juniper had made her laugh. "I like your photos, Junie!" Athena called.

Junie paused her chopping vegetables. "Oh, those? They're special, aren't they?"

"They really are."

"Lunch is ready, I think. Fresh lettuce and a peanut butter sandwich." Athena got up and sat down at the kitchen counter. She couldn't help thinking that Juniper was the most beautiful person she'd ever seen in that moment. She might have been chopping lettuce, but somehow the smile on her features and the way her dark, curly hair fell in front of her eyes was absolutely gorgeous.

"You're really pretty, Junie."

"Huh?"

"You're really pretty." Juniper's face turned red and Athena beamed.

As they ate, they caught up on old times. Athena brought up the time they'd gotten PONCO to dance to their favorite song for them. Juniper brought up the time they'd tried on Metis's jacket and both of them could fit in it together. Both laughed, both smiled, and Athena had almost forgotten about the case of a month ago.

Junie told her that Hugh had re-taken the Themis entrance exam and was on his way to repairing his test grades and continuing his law studies. "Maybe he'll come work with you and Mr. Wright. He said that's his dream."

Athena snorted. "I don't know if we could handle that."

"It must get really crowded there."

"Yeah, it does. You oughta see it, Junie, it's like a pigsty in Mr. Wright's room! Imagine that, Phoenix Wright, famous lawyer, doesn't even know how to do his own damn laundry." Juniper was giggling so much that her milk was almost coming out of her nose. "And Apollo, the big-shot hero, he's always spilling his hair gel on the sink."

"Athena?" Juniper suddenly stopped laughing, although she was still smiling.

"What is it?"

"I love you, 'Thena," she said, leaning across the table and brushing a bit of orange hair away from Athena's face shyly. "I love you."

In all the books Athena had read when she was younger, those words made people cry. The girls in Athena's books would cry and say that they were both girls, they could never be happy. But when Junie said it, Athena could hear in her voice that she was happier than she'd ever been.

"I love you _more!"_ Athena shouted, and soon they were both laughing again.


End file.
